


Strangely Ironic

by stxrkstrxnge



Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, IronStrange, M/M, Peter is best son you can’t tell me otherwise, first fic so not much to expect, gosh i love my two boys, too many characters to name them all :/
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-12
Updated: 2018-09-06
Packaged: 2019-06-26 03:58:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 9,965
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15655311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stxrkstrxnge/pseuds/stxrkstrxnge
Summary: When two egotistical bastards meet, you wouldn’t expect them to fall in love.





	1. Tired.

**Author's Note:**

> oof so i dunno try to enjoy this? sorry if it isn’t great, it’s my first.  
> I LOVE MY SNARKY BOYS

Tony rubbed his temples, brushing aside a cold cup of nearly-empty coffee. Groaning, he checked his watch.

4:17 A.M. He could already hear Pepper telling him to go to bed. Smacking his head gently, he left his task to get some sleep. Well, by “some”, he meant about thirty minutes. Maybe an hour if he’s lucky. 

His obvious lack of sleep wasn’t his fault, and he didn’t care because it didn’t show. Even though the dark bags under his eyes were visible, he had them for such a long time that it became a normal thing. Nobody ever pointed them out.

“Mr. Stark?” a boy’s voice asked hesitantly, causing Tony to jump while heading to his room.

A tired looking Peter Parker was rubbing his eyes, peeking out at a stumbling Tony Stark. “Did something happen?”

”Nah, it’s fine. Go back to bed,” the billionaire responded gently, waving him away. Peter frowned, then turned around to close the door to his room. “Kay. G’night. Or morning. Or... good sleep time thingy.” His fluffy brown hair disappeared behind the door.

Sighing, Tony made it to his room. Yikes. Was it always this dirty?

Clean designer clothes were thrown onto the ground to wrinkle and get stepped on. Coffee cups were found in questionable places around the room. A cup on the table made sense, but why was one balancing on the rim of the shower?

Neary tripping over a pair of shoes with extra inches for height, he changed into silk pyjamas that weren’t worth the money but were extremely comfortable. His phone went off.

Wincing when the bright light hit his face, he wearily scrolled through his many texts to stumble across one of importance.

___

4:24 A.M. 

Doctor Wizard: Why did FRIDAY inform me that you were awake at this time? 

You: baby girl did? shame on her.

Doctor Wizard: More like shame on you.

You: that’s just rude.        

Doctor Wizard: Get to bed.

You: i was gonna. just had some stuff.

Doctor Wizard: Idiot.

___

He couldn’t stop a reluctant grin from appearing on his face as he looked at his texts from Stephen. The given nickname that the wizard hated, “Doctor Wizard”, was simply given to piss off the taller man. 

After minutes of scrolling through social medias, Tony finally put down his phone, almost reluctantly. Time for sleep.

Sleep meant dreams, sleep meant nightmares. It was almost a game at that point.

___

"Mr. Stark? I don't feel so good."

"It was the only way."

Tony watched his friends and family disintegrate into dust particles over and over again.

Over and over.

Again and again.

He would hold Peter in his arms as the teenager apologized before feeling nothing in his arms but dust.

He would reach out to Stephen and watch as the once-confident sorcerer whisked away into the air.

Differently each time.

Sometimes, Peter would push Tony away before dying.

Sometimes, Tony would hold Stephen in his arms before the sorcerer died.

Over and over.

Again and again.

Differently each time.

But he was used to it.

___

The clock read 5:59 A.M. 

That was certainly enough sleep for one night.


	2. Calming.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stephen and Tony go outside for a long chat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm sorry this didn't live up to anyone's expectations lol  
> i promise it'll be better later ;-;  
> as for now don't get mad at me for not really doing much, it'll get more interesting later in the story.

“Can I get Michelle and Ned to come over?” Peter asked, pleading which his eyes at the same time. Tony, who was in the middle of exchanging quips with a certain sorcerer, simply nodded, clearly not listening.

Three teenagers burst through the door, Peter leading. Ned timidly waved at Tony, while Michelle grinned and flipped off both adult men. Peter quickly closed Michelle’s fist before dragging his friends with him to his room, but not before Michelle managed to raise the other hand to show off her middle finger. Stephen simply sent one back in return.

The sorcerer, thank god, was in a simple black sweatshirt along with plain blue jeans. He didn’t have his cloak or his really weird robes with him, which was a relief. That might’ve gotten more than just a slur sent at him. Obviously, he looked good.

Tony would never tell him that, though.

He looked back up to see Stephen watching him. Keeping his cheeks from turning red, he cleared his throat. “So, uh.”

“Clearly, you don’t have the ability to keep the house from chaos,” Stephen said with a neutral face. Tony shrugged. “Can’t look worse than it does now.” Similar to his bedroom, cups were everywhere, while Peter’s juice packs were overflowing out of the garbage bin. 

There was a thud, and the sound of Peter’s door opening could be heard from upstairs. “Uh, that was nothing! Just...” he disappeared back into the room, then came out again. “...Ned’s phone!” Without acknowledging the fact that the noise was much bigger than just a phone falling, the door slammed shut again. 

“Okay, so, nightmares,” Tony said tiredly, leaning backwards on the couch. Stephen raised an eyebrow, which was annoying hot. No, Tony, not hot. Just annoying. 

“Thanos?” the sorcerer asked knowingly, making eye contact with the shorter man. His blue eyes looked like the ocean.

“Yeah, how’d you know?” he wondered out loud, forcing his eyes not to wander from Stephen’s intense gaze. Focus.

Stephen finally looked away. “I’ve had my fair share.” Had? Before Tony got a chance to ask, the sorcerer abruptly stood up. "I'm going out." 

Tony, disappointed, raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Can I come?" Stephen simply started walking towards the door. "Don't you want to supervise the-" he waved towards the ceiling, which made a big thud as a response. "-children?" he asked, a smirk on his face. Tony shook his head. Was that too quick? "I need my quiet time, they're a lot to handle," Tony shrugged, not explaining the real reason why. Stephen examined Tony by looking him up and down, which nearly made Tony blush. Finally, after a few seconds (which seemed like hours), Stephen opened the door to leave. He motioned with his head for Tony to follow. Eagerly, but not too eagerly, Tony followed.   
___

"If we're here to talk about our nightmares, I'm out," Tony said when Stephen opened the door to a cafe. Stephen kept it open for Tony, shaking his head. 

"If you won't, I won't." 

The cafe was nearly empty, which was a good thing. The aroma of coffee and herbal teas filled Tony's nose, letting him enjoy the scent for a moment. Stephen walked confidently over to the counter, gesturing for Tony to join him. "What do you want?" Stephen asked, pulling out his wallet. 

"Oh, I can pay for myself," Tony grinned, taking out his own wallet. Stephen scoffed. "That would be expected. However, I'll pay this time," he laughed, gesturing towards the comfortable sofas for Tony to sit. Confused by the unusual kind gesture from Strange, he sat comfortably. Realizing he didn't tell him what he wanted, he was about to stand up when Stephen took a seat on the opposite side of Tony, handing him a coffee. Thanking him quietly, Tony sunk into the sofa with his warm coffee between his hands. He really wasn't used to someone else paying for his things.

Even if it wasn't necessary, it was still nice.

"I can pay next time," Tony piped up, still thinking about the gesture. Stephen shrugged, letting a rare real smile lift the corners of his mouth. "Next time, huh?" he teased, raising an eyebrow in a way that made Tony shiver, hopefully in an unnoticeable way. "I mean, this is nice, isn't it?" Tony asked almost in a shy way. Stephen's smile got bigger, which was a nice sight to see.

"Yeah, this is nice."  
___

After hours of playful banter and possible flirting that wasn't obvious, Tony's phone vibrated. The screen read 'Insect Son', showing Peter winking cheekily while flashing cheesy finger guns. He picked up, shrugging at Stephen, who leaned back to listen. 

"Peter-"

"Mr. Stark? Mr. Stark! Hi! Uh, I, uh, Ned, uh, can we have like a party maybe or something?" Peter asked anxiously, his voice full of excitement.

Tony dismissively waved a hand without thinking and nodded. "Sure, maybe next week or something."

Tony could hear Peter, Ned and Michelle all make excited noises, and Tony wondered if he shouldn't have said yes so easily. 

"'Kay, Mr. Stark, thanks!" Peter yelled, making Tony wince. 

"Sure, kid."

Turning off the phone, Tony looked up to see Stephen simply staring at him. He raised both of his eyebrows, and nearly gaped his mouth in surprise when Stephen seemingly jolted back into reality.

Was that a blush?

It was quick and faint, but Tony noticed it. The pink had come and disappeared, and Stephen cleared his throat.

"It's time to leave," he stated, standing up. He walked over and opened the door like a gentleman, allowing Tony to walk through as he did before.

The two men, one tall and one noticeably shorter, walked to their separate homes in comfortable silence.


	3. Cold.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes happen to meet up with Tony Stark and Stephen Strange, who aren’t exactly happy to see the other pair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oof  
> i think it’s a slightly okay chapter but i’m not sure i can’t exactly judge my own work  
> h e l p m e
> 
> ALSO WHY DO I KEEP FORGETING TO POST JALFHCNGJWK
> 
> i’m sorry

Peter’s ‘party’ turned out to be exactly what he had expected.

A bunch of geeky teenagers all huddled together giggling at simple phrases while playing Rock Band.

Avoiding the kids, Tony sat quietly at a couch in the room furthest away from Peter’s room. Somehow, the echo of drumsticks against plastic drums still reached his ears. Man, if he ever met those kids, they’d probably be more respectful and notice how much noise they were making.

But he didn’t want to go chastise them for several reasons. One being that he didn’t want to meet the teenagers, who’d probably freak out over the fact that Peter’s dad was motherfucking _Tony Stark_ , and also because he didn’t want to seem like a total douchebag to his kid’s friends.

So he steered clear of all the kids.

Mere minutes passed, filled with yelling teenagers and more thuds before a text caused Tony’s phone to vibrate. The sender’s name read ‘Pepper Potts’.  
___

Pepp: Tony, Steve wants to meet up.

You: course he does.

Pepp: I told him that it’s fine. You guys will be meeting at a cafe at exactly 7:00 PM tonight. Don’t say no, because I’ve already planned it.

You: no

Pepp: Too late. See you at 7:00 sharp, Taschie Cafe.

You: no  
___

He groaned to himself when he noticed Pepper wasn’t answering. After all this time, THE Steve Rogers wanted to come and say hi? Also two hours later?

He wandered into a different room, muttering to himself. He didn’t pay attention to anything while he walked, he was annoyed. FRIDAY’s voice could be heard saying something to him, but Tony didn’t want to listen. He was kinda childish like that.

“Uhhh, Mr. Stark?”

_Whoopsies._

Multiple confused teenagers turned to stare at Tony before their mouths gaped. They all turned to face Peter, then Tony, then Peter, then back to Tony once again.

“Peter, why is TONY STARK in your house?” a boy playing chess asked in a high-pitched tone. Tony looked at him weirdly, raising an eyebrow. The boy looked at his chessboard, then turned back to Tony while gesturing to his game. “Chess!” the boy said happily.

Peter looked over at his dad with a curious look, shrugging. Tony rubbed his temples, groaning. “FRIDAY, I’m going out for a while. Make sure these idiots don’t break anything,” he ordered his AI, staring pointedly at Ned, Peter and Michelle all playing Rock Band. Everyone’s faces got even more confused (except for the trio) as Tony left the room.

Goddamn it, he’s going to need a bit of a drink.  
___

6:48 PM was glowing from his watch, and he entered the cafe. It was... noisier than the one Stephen and Tony loved, but it wasn’t terrible, as far as cages went.

Tony, as to not stand out, wore a baggy sweater and put the hood on over his head. Yes, he may have gotten some weird looks because of his goatee, but that was better than a full on paparazzi.

Everything seemed lonely. At every table, there were several people chatting and laughing, just like how Tony had done with Stephen. Soon, he would only have Rogers to talk to. That wouldn’t be fun.

Sighing, he pulled out his phone. 6:53 read at the top.  
___

You: hey can you come to a cafe it might be worse than the one we were at before but it’s ok because i’m supposed to meet with someone and i don’t really wanna see him so could you come 

Doctor Wizard: Does punctuation and grammar not exist in your phone?

You: nobody cares about grammar when they’re texting you’re just weird 

Doctor Wizard: Do you want me to go to your cafe or not?

You: please

Doctor Wizard: I do not know the address or the name of the cafe.

You: uh taschie cafe 

Doctor Wizard: I’ll be there.  
___

Tony grinned. Hey, at least someone okay will be there. 

After minutes of waiting, Steve walked in at exactly 6:59 PM. That’s just annoying. However, someone else followed behind him.

“Tony,” Steve said as a greeting, giving him a nod. Tony just shrugged, arms crossed. “Steve,” he muttered.

The blond man had grown out his hair a bit and grew a beard. Going for that rugged look, Tony supposed. Ha. Ninety-year-old.

The other man turned out to be James ‘Bucky’ Barnes. Not to mention that he was the guy who killed Tony’s parents, but that’s a different story.

“Why’d you wanna meet?” Tony asked coldly, looking Steve up and down. Steve sat with good posture, trying to look Tony right in the eye. He failed. Bucky simply sat down, watching the conversation.

“I just wanted to chat.” Steve ran a hand through his hair, leaning back a little into the chair. “About... you know.”

Tony’s eyes grew colder, as he tightened his grip around his arms. “You mean when you struck me over and over again with your shield to break my suit? You mean that?” he laughed without any humour. “What a fun topic.”

The sound of the door opening made Tony turn his head, and he automatically relaxed when he saw a familiar face walk through. Stephen’s sweatshirt was teal, and his pants were skinny black jeans. Needless to say, he was really good looking again.

Or maybe that was just him normally.

He looked around, hands in pockets, and walked over to Tony’s table, sitting in the chair closest to Tony. Tony silently thanked the sorcerer.

Bucky and Steve warily looked at Stephen, who leaned into his chair, relaxed. His ocean eyes almost physically told Tony to change the subject, so that’s what he did.

“Thanos. What happened?” Tony asked, trying to put a more relaxed feeling into his tone instead of having that cold, monotonous voice.

Steve looked at Bucky, letting a small grin show. “We almost lost, but Thor managed to throw an axe thing at the titan. He hit the head,” he finished, patting his arm on Bucky’s metal arm. Tony almost said something, but held it back.

Clearly uncomfortable from Tony and Stephen, Bucky looked over at Stephen. “Who are you?” he asked warily, clenching a fist. Stephen shifted his gaze over to Bucky, causing the long-haired man to tighten his fist.

“Doctor Strange. Stephen Vincent Strange,” he replied easily in a deep, calming voice, not looking away. Bucky slowly relaxed his grip when Steve put a hand on his shoulder.

An hour of talking passed, and Tony found himself warming up to the other two men. He wouldn’t exactly trust them yet, but they weren’t the terrible people he thought them to be before. When the time reached 8:26 PM, Steve and Bucky excused themselves and left. They were polite enough to shake hands with the other pair, though.

When the door closed, Tony let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding in.

“You alright?” Stephen asked softly, putting a hand on Tony’s shoulder. Without meaning for it to, his heartbeat quickened. Stephen simply stood up, waiting for Tony to do the same as he took his hand off Tony’s shoulder. “Where are you going?” Tony asked, standing.

Stephen shrugged, smirking. “Back to the Sanctum?” he said, raising an eyebrow.

“C’mon, I have literal teenagers being loud at my place, you can’t leave me,” he pleaded. Stephen shrugged. “Your place, then. I don’t need to be anywhere at the moment,” he grinned. Tony smiled back, opening the door for Stephen.

“Ladies and weird wizards first,” he laughed. Stephen walked through, looking down at Tony as he passed. “Sorcerer,” he smirked, walking through.


	4. Happy.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two men drinking two different beverages, before a good night’s sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AHH I DUNNO  
> also sum cute moments here   
> i want them to be together but at the same time i want there to be actual plot and buildup and stuff help  
> please advise me if these chapters are too short or something bc i think they are  
> but try to enjoy pls thanks

The teenagers were all considerably quieter when they got to Tony’s home. They definitely weren’t asleep - what kind of teenager goes to sleep at 9:42 PM - but just seemed more respectful of the place, as they now know who’s house it was.

So the house was filled with soft drumming and sound effects from the television, which was definitely better than the hellish racket that sounded through the house before.

Not exactly peace and quiet, as Tony often heard ‘yeets’ and lots of other phrases that he didn’t understand, but it was acceptable.

“Welcome home, Boss and Dr. Strange.” FRIDAY’s voice was calm and cheerful as the two men walked through. Stephen’s steps faltered for a minute before he walked through the expensive-looking door.

“You’ve cleaned up,” Stephen remarked, noticing that the room was clear of dirty mugs. In no definition was the house clean, but it had improved in terms of being able to see the ground.

Tony smirked. “Just for you,” he said in a teasing tone. He decided going against the urge to tap Stephen’s nose with his finger, as that might have ended in awkward silence.

Stephen scoffed, finding the same couch to sit on as last time. Tony walked over to his coffee machine, pouring himself one when it was done. “Coffee?” he asked, waiting for the mug to cool down.

“Sure,” Stephen answered, moving the cushions to be more comfortable. Tony picked up the steaming mugs and made his way towards the couch, handing Stephen a cup. The sorcerer didn’t hesitate to wave a hand over the drink, turning the brown contents into an orange-colored liquid. 

“Hey! That was a one-of-a-kind coffee made by me, what’s the deal?” Tony asked, half offended. Stephen shrugged, resting his arm on the side of the sofa. “Tea’s better. I’ll drink your coffee when it’s a good time to,” Stephen responded, sipping his tea. 

“It’s always time for coffee,” Tony said in a snobby way. Stephen looked up at a clock. “It’s 10:04 PM.”

Tony already drained his cup. He was about to stand up when Stephen grabbed one of his arms, shaking his head disapprovingly. “No coffee for you.”

Pushing down a blush, Tony crossed his arms like a child. “I can’t even sleep properly. I might as well just last on coffee the whole night,” he sighed, leaning deeper into the couch.

Stephen looked at Tony with something like - concern? Unexpected. “I can help you sleep,” the sorcerer suggested. Tony scoffed. “Doc, we haven’t even dated yet,” he joked. Stephen gave him a pointed look before sighing. After a small while, he answered. “I meant a spell or something. It’s not in my list to sleep with you,” the taller man stated. “Eugh, magic again? Jeez, I’d prefer anything else.” Tony rolled his eyes, feeling more sluggish than usual because of the absence of the caffeine that usually energized him. “If you fall asleep right at this moment, I will not hesitate to leave your body here on this couch for the teenagers to find,” Stephen said in a serious tone. Tony uncrossed his arms, grinning. “What if I do fall asleep, doc? C’mon, you can’t leave an innocent man out to feed the wolves like that,” he laughed, feeling his eyelids droop slightly over his eyeballs. Tony pretended to fall asleep, fake-snoring loudly. Stephen gave him a contemptuous glance before standing up, clearly heading for the door.

“Wait, I was kidding! Don’t leave,” Tony yelled, slightly panicking. His breathing got quicker, and he felt his throat close. _They’re leaving again..._

When he gathered his thoughts together again, he could feel two shaking hands on his shoulders, while a calming voice brought him back. “You’re alright, nothing's happening.” Stephen’s deep voice was almost like an anchor as Tony tried to calm down.

“Breathe with me,” Stephen murmured, slowing down his own breathing. Tony tried to match it. He could breathe again.

“It’s okay,” Stephen said quietly, hesitating before pulling Tony into a hug.

At first, Tony didn’t respond to the rare display of affection from the seemingly distant sorcerer, but he warmed up to it after a few seconds. Stephen nearly pulled away when suddenly, Tony wrapped his own arms around the sorcerer.

For at least a couple minutes, the two men stayed wrapped in each other’s arms. 

It was the safest either of them had felt in months.

Clearing his throat, Stephen gently pulled away. “Are you alright?” he asked, a hand still wrapped around Tony’s arm. When Tony dropped his gaze to the hand, Stephen let go.

Tony brought a hand up to his neck, breathing normally. “I’m fine.”

After minutes of comfortable silence, the smaller man ended up asleep on the couch. Soft snores exited his slightly-open mouth, causing Stephen to grin. Tony’s head was rested against the sorcerer’s shoulder. 

If it was anyone else, Stephen would have moved.

___

Tony’s watch read 6:18 AM when he woke up.

His neck felt sore, and his clothes were the ones he had worn last night, but he felt rested and... happy.

He tried to stretch out his neck when he froze, suddenly noticing who he was sitting beside.

Stephen.

The sorcerer’s eyes were closed, and he slept without snoring. Of course he didn’t snore. He was _too perfect_ for that, as he would say.

Tony felt a strange happiness radiate from his stomach when he saw the taller man’s face in a relaxed state, a few stray hairs framing his face.

He didn’t realize he was sweeping a few strands aside until he saw that Stephen’s eyes were opened, blue and green and beautiful.

Also staring at him. That wasn’t good.

Tony nearly jumped off the couch until he noticed a small smile turn the corners of Stephen’s lips upward. A shaking hand gently rested on the side of Tony’s face, causing him to blush a little. 

The twisting feeling in his stomach wasn’t a bad thing at all. It was pure. genuine joy - a feeling he hadn’t felt in a long. long time.


	5. Love.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A russian spy ends up changing Tony’s life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> woohoo
> 
> y e a s  
> my two lovely boys and great peter and some other people  
> i have never loved natasha more than this very moment everyone clap it up  
> but YEESH i LOVE my two boys <3  
> ENJOY bc i enjoyed writing this one for sure lmao

“Seriously, Tony? You like a _wizard_?”

A certain russian spy was lying down comfortably in Tony’s living room sofa, feet up and everything. 

“If you don’t understand the word ‘friendship’, I can hook you up to a kindergarten english class,” Tony scoffed, ignoring the guilt of telling a lie. Natasha grinned, kicking one foot in the air to the rhythm of the song playing softly in the background.

“Oh, I know the word ‘friendship’ fine. That’s the thing Steve and Bucky define their own relationship to be,” she laughed, closing her eyes. “Pshh, ‘friendship’. Tell me that when the two of you start making out, ‘kay?” 

Just then, Thor and Bruce walked in. Tony looked up at them, waving hi to his friends. “Hey Pointbreak and science bro,” he grinned. Thor had a massive arm around Bruce’s shoulders.

Oh yeah, Bruce Banner and Thor Odinson were dating.

When they all came back from the battle with the mad titan, Thor had embraced the doctor. It was a shock to every single person there at the time, but eventually everyone got used to it.

“Hello man of iron, are you talking about the wizard?” the god of thunder said in his kind, booming voice. His arm dropped from Bruce’s shoulders and he rested his hands in pockets. 

“What? No. Why do you know him?” he asked suspiciously, wondering if he had ever seen them meet. Natasha sat up properly, resting her head on two hands, seemingly interested.

“Yes! Beer wizard! We’re great friends!” the y’all man exclaimed, grinning widely. A typing noise came from Natasha’s direction, mildly irritating Tony.

“How’d you meet him? Why beer wizard?” Tony asked, genuinely curious. The sound of a digital keyboard still occupied the room, causing him to turn around, annoyed.

“Stop fucking typin - is that my phone?” he exclaimed, reaching for his phone. Natasha smirked, holding it far from his reach. “Sit down, I’m being your friend and i’m _helping you_ ,” she smiled, typing the end of her sentence. “Aaaaand... there.”

The sound of the sending button filled Tony’s ears and he grabbed his phone away, which the russian spy let go of with ease. Tony read through the texts.  
___

You: Hey wizard boy, what u up 2? ;)

Doctor Wizard: I’m assuming this isn’t Tony. Who is this?

You: K, youre a smart one, arent you?

Doctor Wizard: This isn’t Tony. Please tell me if this conversation is a priority or I shall carry on with my tasks.

You: Blunt man, Tony likes you.  
___

Natasha snorted, hiding her mouth behind her hand. Tony read that sentence over and over again. _Tony likes you_.

He watched the typing bubble appear and disappear until it disappeared for good. He groaned, throwing his phone onto the sofa. “Why’d you do that?”

The blonde lady shrugged, producing a lollipop from a pocket in her jacket. “No reason. Just helping out a friend,” she giggled, popping the candy into her mouth.

“Fuck you.”

Hours passed, and the whole crew got together. There were people Tony was happy to see, like T’Challa, Rhodey and Pepper, and some others that he wasn’t so joyful to see, like Wanda, Steve and Bucky.

Shuri was upstairs with Peter, occasionally coming downstairs to yell a few dumb phrases in sync. Seriously, did they have to make Tony drop his croissant?

At 2:57 A.M., the crew left. Shuri and Peter fake-wept, although Tony noticed them flip each other off. Bruce and Thor left quite happily, whispering things into each other’s ears.

It wasn’t surprising to see a portal form in the living room at 3:16.

Tony immediately hid his face in his hands when he saw the lean figure walk through. Stephen stood there awkwardly before hugging Tony to his chest. 

“You okay?” the sorcerer asked softly. His cloak had followed, wrapping around Tony’s shoulders gently. Tony looked up, confused.

“Uh, I'd much rather ask you that. I mean the text was my friend, she didn’t mean it, my, uh, dog sent that,” he babbled. He didn’t even have a dog. Dogs couldn’t even type, so that sentence was completely useless.

His voice faded when Stephen hesitantly held both sides of Tony’s face in his shaking hands. They were so incredibly close, Tony could see every single colour in Stephen’s eyes. Blue, green, very faint flecks of gold.

The sorcerer’s fingers wreathed through Tony’s hair, and Tony wrapped his arms around Stephen’s waist. “Why are you here?” the smaller man asked quietly.

Stephen brought his fingers back down to Tony’s chin and lifted it up, forcing Tony to make eye contact with him once again. It definitely wasn’t against Tony’s will, those eyes were stunning.

“You’re more tolerable than the rest of the people I know,” the taller man breathed. Tony wasn’t sure who leaned in first, but the kiss was filled with more love than he ever experienced.

Stephen’s lips were soft and warm, and each kiss was like a pillow of affection. Most of his past kisses were aggressive and lust-filled, usually from people who wanted his money. Others, like from Pepper, had passion but didn’t feel like true love. It felt like love from a friend.

But when Stephen kissed Tony, the love was unmistakeable.

___

The two sat on the couch, Tony leaning backwards onto Stephen while the taller man played with say he playboy’s hair.

“Why me?” Tony asked, looking upwards at Stephen. The sorcerer’s lips curved upwards at the ends as he leaned down to kiss Tony’s forehead.

“What do you mean, why you?” he laughed, wrapping his arms around the smaller man. Tony snuggled deeper into Stephen’s chest.

“Usually when someone talks to me, they tell me how much they can’t stand me,” Tony said easily. Stephen scoffed.

“Oh, when I met you, I definitely couldn’t stand your arrogant ass,” he laughed. “Still can’t. However, it had grown a tiny bit endearing.”

“This night has gone from romantic and nice to hurtful,” Tony laughed, clutching at his chest dramatically as if Stephen’s remarks hurt him.

“I’m not sure it’s even night anymore,” Stephen said after twisting a lock of Tony’s brown hair around his finger. The scientist glanced at his watch, grimacing.

“You’re supposed to be like ‘oh no babe I’m sorrrrrry you’re beautiful’ and stuff, don’t mention the time,” Tony whines. Stephen laughed, grabbing Tony’s arm without warning.

“5:20 A.M.? Jesus christ,” Stephen mumbled, making an effort to stand up. Tony winced, wanting nothing more than for Stephen to stay. “Don’t leave,” he said quietly, reaching to grab for the sorcerer’s hand. The taller man thought for a moment before pulling the genius up with him. 

“You’re going to sleep.” The sorcerer lead the billionaire up the stairs to his room, onto the bed. Tony nervously looked at Stephen, who scoffed. “No, I am not going to have sex with you right at this moment,” the sorcerer laughed. Tony relaxed.

He watched as Stephen settled into the bed, pulling a few covers over his body. Tony eagerly moved over to snuggle with the sorcerer, who wrapped his arms around the smaller man with ease. It felt right, like the two were destined to be together.

For the first time in a long, long time, Tony was in a bed with someone he very truly loved.


	6. Shawarma.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony goes to a shawarma restaurant to have a full conversation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kind of filler but it has sum ironstrange in it and i love it lmao   
> IM SORRY i keep forgetting that this fic exists and i have to update but i need to remember and i c a n t
> 
> PLEASE ENJOY THO

Several weeks had passed before anyone found out about their relationship. The fact that even Peter didn’t know meant that Tony hid the secret pretty damn well.

There was one day he wasn’t so careful, though.

Tony forgot that Peter’s school had several early-dismissal days. Hey, he was a dad, he wasn’t a smart dad. Technically he was smart in several ways, but not in the parenting way.

“Mr. Dad? I’m home, my teacher wants you to-” Peter’s voice trailed off when he saw Tony in the living room, leaning on Stephen while the sorcerer was sleeping.

At first, Tony simply held up a finger to shush the younger boy before realizing he had never seen the couple together like this before.

Peter squealed. Literally squealed. He sounded like a goddamn pig. It was a perfect imitation.

Then he covered his mouth with his hand because Tony was giving him a death glare. That scared everyone.

Unfortunately, that was too late. Stephen’s eyes had already opened, in all their oceany beauty. That was the good part.

The bad part was that the wizard’s eyes drifted over to Peter, widening slightly when he saw the boy.

Tony cleared his throat, sitting up so the two men weren’t touching anymore. “This isn’t what it looks like,” he mumbled.

Peter let out a high-pitched laugh. “Yes it is! It’s exactly what it looks like, and it’s great, and I’M GOING TO HAVE TWO DADS!” he yelled with glee, punching the air enthusiastically before leaving the room. Then he ran back in to grab a bottle of water before leaving again.

Stephen rubbed his forehead. Tony gave him an apologetic look, fiddling with his fingers. “Sorry, I didn’t hear him come in.”

“You could have. He’s extremely noisy,” Stephen laughed suddenly, pulling Tony in for an unexpected hug. Tony, surprised but delighted, held on tightly. “You’re okay with him knowing?”

“A teenager knowing does not seem to bother me,” Stephen murmured, pulling his head backwards a tiny bit to rest his forehead on his partner’s. The sorcerer tilted his head, lips hovering over Tony’s, but not touching. What a tease.

Finally, Stephen pulled Tony in for a kiss that was as light as a feather. Tony wasn’t disappointed, but he had expected more. When he pulled away, a corner of Stephen’s lips curled upwards and he pulled the shorter man in for another kiss. It was different, though.

This kiss was rough and passionate. When their lips met, it felt right. Stephen was pushed into the sofa, Tony kissing him passionately. Tony gasped for air, leaning against the sorcerer who nipped at his neck gently, leaving marks.

“No fair,” Tony whispered, smirking up at the sorcerer. Stephen looked up from Tony’s neck, their eyes meeting. Among the blue and green, love was true and clear in the sorcerer’s eyes.  
___

After weeks, the Avengers had gathered at a shawarma place to just catch up. Nobody was there, so the superheroes could go in and not receive any weird looks.

The conversation was filled with polite greetings and small talk, and it bored Tony to death.

He sighed loudly, reaching for his fourth kebab. Rhodey gave him a weird look before turning back to the conversation.

“Something wrong?” Steve asked, in his weird honorable way. Ugh.

“I mean, I’d leave if it wasn’t for the shawarma and kebabs. You guys are so boring, it sucks literal ass.” He stuck a piece of the kebab into his mouth, leaning backwards on the creaking chair. Bucky let out a quick chuckle before stifling it.

Natasha openly laughed, kicking her feet up on the table. One of the workers gave her a dirty look.

“He isn’t wrong. This conversation _could_ get spicier,” she giggled. She lifted a finger to point at Tony’s neck, causing the genius to lift up his shirt collar. Steve simply had a confused look on his face while Clint snorted over in his corner.

“Why’s your neck bruised?” Steve asked innocently, trying to peer over the collar. Natasha nearly spit out her drink from laughing.

“Its a hickey, old man,” Clint said, flicking his hair backwards before taking a bite of his shawarma. That word simply made Steve look more confused before Bucky whispered something in his ear. The blond man opened his mouth in an “ohh” before raising an eyebrow at Tony. Nobody could raise an eyebrow like Stephen, though.

Speaking of Stephen, a portal appeared in the restaurant. Steve stepped backwards with arms raised in a defensive position, unconsciously protecting Bucky. Stephen stepped through, an annoyed look on his face. Tony’s insides felt uncomfortable when the wizard rolled his eyes and gestures towards the glowing circle. 

“Uh, what’s up?” Tony asked, scratching the back of his neck. Stephen facepalmed and gestured towards the portal.

Peter could be seen on the other side, pouting with his arms crossed. Tony groaned when seeing nothing was wrong, but was honestly glad to have something take his attention away from this stale conversation. He stood up, sarcastically giving the avengers a peace sign. 

They stepped through the portal, ignoring the whistles from Clint and Natasha, to meet an upset Peter Parker.


	7. Training.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Avengers train.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oopsie another update  
> I FORGOT ABOUT THE COMMENTS SO I MADE SURE TO ANSWER THEM ALL AS SOON AS I COULD like yesterday or sumthin 
> 
> thank you all for enjoying it so far!! i’m having fun writing about me 2 boys and i’m AMAZED that it’s actually getting responses and kudos!! i honestly started this fic bc i just looooove ironstrange and i need more of it lmao
> 
> please enjoy! thanks :)

The expression on Peter’s face was the biggest pout Tony had ever seen, and he had seen an uncountable amount of pouts in his lifetime.

“Jesus. What’d you do to that suit?” he asked, disgusted by the state of the suit. It was in rags, the only colours Tony could see were hints of red and blue.

When Peter failed to answer, Tony scoffed. “That was a multi-million dollar suit,” he said, not really caring about the price. What he DID care about was Peter, and when his son was in a ripped up suit, that didn’t soothe his mental state.

“Spill it,” Tony said to both Stephen and Peter. The sorcerer loyally put up his hands and stepped backwards, crossing them afterwards. The boy crossly looked at Stephen before turning back to an angry Tony.

“Uh, the guys from the ship thing,” Peter mumbled, lowering his gaze. 

“Oh great. Oh, that’s it?” he said sarcastically, throwing up his arms. “ _Just_ those idiots. I’m glad Squidward was killed out in space, otherwise you’d be in some deep shit right now.” 

He pretended to stroke his goatee as if thinking deeply. “Huh, wonder why you didn’t ask for help?” 

Peter finally raised his gaze back up to Tony’s eyes, clearly upset. “I could have taken on them! It wasn’t even that hard,” he muttered the end sentence, automatically pouting again. Stephen let out a low chuckle before hiding it with a cough.

“I’ve had enough of your bullshit. Karen, activate Baby Monitor Protocol for all hours, keep the tracker on. Inform me if something happens and whenever Peter goes out, I want to hear about it.” He ignored the look the teenager was giving him.

“Kid, I didn’t take the suit away. Don’t talk back, that’s still an option,” he finished, glaring back into the kid’s eyes until he looked away. Peter stomped into his room, slamming the door behind him.

“That was harsh,” Stephen commented. He walked over to Tony, hand resting gently on his shoulder.

“I know, and he deserved it,” Tony replied stubbornly. Stephen chuckled, squeezing Tony’s shoulder. 

“You’re going to repair his suit, though.”

“Well yeah, that’d just ruin him if I didn’t,” he muttered. 

Tony leaned into Stephen, who automatically wrapped his arms around the shorter man. He breathed in the scent of tea and books, both of which smelled amazing.

Eager for affection, he tilted his head up. Stephen stole a love-filled kiss from Tony’s lips, slightly-shaking fingers on the hair of Tony’s goatee. When he pulled away, he closed his eyes and pressed his forehead to Stephen’s.

“Should I apologize?” he asked after a moment of comfortable silence. Stephen kissed the top of Tony’s head gently, holding Tony tighter.

“Depends on what you want.” The two men stood there for a while, breathing in each other’s scent.  
___

Natasha shielded a punch from Clint, rolling backwards to dodge his other attacks. Tony watched Bucky kick Steve, metal arm striking skin.

Training had become a usual thing for the avengers again, after a while of going without it.

“Jeez, sorry Buck.” Steve reached up to gently examine the spot he had punched along Bucky’s jaw. Tony noticed his hand linger before dropping.

Natasha and Clint were fighting aggressively and without apologizing. There were no regrets about the bruises they left, just laughter and competitive mindsets.

Pepper exhaled, wincing every time the two deadly assassins landed punches. “Ouch.”

Tony laughed, shifting his attention from the fighting to Pepper. “You’re not fighting,” he pointed out, gesturing towards the hard-working fighters.

The redhead scoffed, placing her hands on her hips. “ _I’m_ not an avenger, Tony.” She pointed at the fight. “Why aren’t you doing that?” Grinning, the ex-couple watched Natasha flip Clint over.

“I’m just gonna keep out of it. Don’t wanna embarrass myself,” Tony joked, letting his gaze wander. Were... Steve and Bucky hugging?

“Pep. Your 2:00,” he murmured behind a coffee cup. Pepper glanced over, eyes widening. “Are they..? I knew it!” she whispered, watching with glee as Steve kissed Bucky’s cheek. They turned away, Pepper grinning. 

“You knew?” Tony asked, letting a surprised tone leak into his voice. Pepper nodded rapidly, still grinning widely. “It was obvious! It was so obvious that Thor could have noticed, and he notices nothing ever.” 

“I mean, I guess,” Tony agreed finally, looking over at the super soldiers he used to hate. Sure, they weren’t his favourite people in the world, but they deserved happiness.

After what seemed like an hour of training, Tony called in the crew.

“Okay, training’s boring as always. I mean you all are doing great, but it’s boring. But we gotta do something about those weirdos.”

“Thanos’s children?” Natasha asked immediately. Tony nodded, rolling his eyes. “Raisin head had to leave his idiots behind. We gotta get rid of them,” he groaned. The avengers shrugged, and Natasha was the first to chime in.

“I mean sure, why not.” She judged Clint’s shoulder. “Clint?” 

“I’m in.” When the others said their approval, Tony beamed. It was undeniably a great feeling to have his old crew back.

“Let’s kick some ugly ass, then.”


	8. Chips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> peter’s POV for once, woohoo :)  
> i’m watching sherlock again, and i love my benadryl cucumberbatch  
> ACK i can’t believe this is almost at 100 kudos! I’ve never made a fic before, so this wasn’t expected at ALL.  
> thank you all so much! i can’t believe it :))  
> WHY CANT I MAKE THESE CHAPTERS LONGER AAAAAAck  
> have a wonderful day! i’ll update as soon as i can <3

“Hey MJ, pass that to me.”

When Michele tossed the controller over to Peter, he caught it without looking.

“Hah! How’d you do that, your spi-” Ned stopped in the middle of his sentence, glancing anxiously over at Michelle to see if she noticed his mess-up.

Oh yeah. Nobody knew about his sick powers other than the avengers, Ned, or May. He probably should tell MJ about it, as she had become one of his best friends. 

Something held him back, though.

Michelle raised an eyebrow, but that was it. Ned exhaled noticeably, sharing a look with Peter.

“What’re you gonna play?” Michelle questioned, kicking her feet up on the couch. She reached over for a chip, crunching it slowly in her mouth. 

Peter shrugged, scratching the back of his neck. “I dunno, maybe something we haven’t played. 

“What about a Spider-Man game?” she asked nonchalantly, grabbing another chip. Ned froze, a chip hanging from his mouth. Michelle copied Ned’s posture, freezing on her own. “Or an avenger game, ooh!” she grinned, throwing a chip at Ned.

Peter cleared his throat loudly, ears growing hot. “I, uh, sure!” he said a bit too enthusiastically, shrinking under Michelle’s mischievous grin.

Ned’s chip dropped from his chin, gaining Peter’s attention. Without warning, while Peter was staring at the chip on the ground, Michelle threw her own handful at Peter, who unwillingly caught every single piece without looking. Her eyes grew wide.

“Holy shit, I knew it!” she yelled, tossing her crumbs towards Ned, who watched the pieces fall. “You’re Spider-man!”

“No, what the hell? Why would you say that?” he asked, trying to act innocent. She narrowed her eyes. 

“Peter Benjamin Parker, you live with motherfucking TONY STARK in a MANSION and you caught my motherfucking CHIP without looking!” she laughed, pointing accusingly at him. “If you do so much as to DENY this I will personally crumple all these chips and rub them into the carpet for you to cut your feet on,” she finished. Ned had a scared look on his face as he slowly lifted the chip bag away from Michelle.

“I’m not Spiderman!” he lied, flinging hands upwards. Michelle snorted.

“How’d you catch the chip, then?” she scoffed, crossing her arms. Peter scratched the back of his neck. “Reflexes...?” 

“Lies! Lies, lies, lies. You’re Spiiiiiidermannnnn,” she sang, dancing around the room. Peter looked over at Ned, who helplessly shrugged. 

“C’mon Spidey, show us some web stuff!” she urged, sitting down and giving Peter her rapt attention. He reluctantly emitted some of his webbing towards the wall, watching as Michelle examined it, fascinated. 

When Ned had to leave, Peter was left in an awkward silence with Michelle. The girl didn’t look too surprised about the fact that he was indeed Spiderman, but instead she sat on the couch and stared him up and down until his ears grew hot.

“You know, for what it’s worth, you’re still the annoying boy you’ve always been,” she finally said after a moment of silence. Peter managed to put on a smile, genuinely glad. “I hope I get to annoy you for as long as is possible,” he grinned. Michelle simply smiled back.

___

“Mr. Stark?”

Tony winced when the couch moved under Peter’s weight, moving his sore arm. “Kid, I told you not to call me that.” 

Mr. Stark had an ice pack against his arm, bruises dotting the skin. Did it look painful? Yes, but also totally awesome! He had battle scars and stuff!

Stephen made a noise that sounded disapproving when he saw the couch sink. “The idiot had to take care of the entity alone, without help,” he explained, flicking two fingers against Mr. Stark’s forehead gently. _Flirts._

“Yeah, I’m a hero.” Tony scrunched up his nose, stretching his arm out. “It’ll be fine, don’t worry.”

“It would have been a better victory if you didn’t let your big head get in the way of the battle,” Stephen retorted, gently moving the ice pack to a more comfortable position. Tony frowned, childishly pushing Stephen’s hand away. “You might not _have_ your big head if it wasn’t for my big head,” he snorted. The sorcerer snickered, waving a hand.

“My big head and I shall leave to the Sanctum, then.” A shimmering, awesome-looking portal appeared, while a cool museum kind of thing was on the other side. _Sick_.

Tony visibly tensed up when Stephen left, running a hand gently up and down his sore arm. “Aspirin?” Peter asked, noticing the container on the table. Tony shrugged, then gave him a stern look. “It’s from a doctor, it’s fine.”

“Which doctor? Dr. Strange?” Peter grinned, raising his eyebrows. Tony groaned, rubbing his fingers on the condensation outside of the ice pack before flicking the droplets onto Peter. “Dr. Nunyabusiness.” 

Peter’s smile turned into a bigger grin. “Dr. Allmybusiness! But it’s totally fine,” Peter laughed as Tony’s face relaxed. “I only saw you guys kissing and stuff and SURE you guys were just being friendly, but that’s REALLY SUPER friendly.”

Tony swatted at him playfully, acting as though he was mad. “Alright, get outta here punk.” Peter giggled on his way to his room, laugh growing louder when he heard Mr. Stark whisper to a certain someone through a phone.


	9. Pictures.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ew ew school starts in four days and i am NOT here for it
> 
> please enjoy this chapter! yes, it’s not really important to the plot, but was fun to write! i’m sorry, i should probably make the chapters more exciting to read but HEY this is fun to write about lmao 
> 
> kudos and comments are appreciated!! <3

Hours and hours went by painfully slowly when Stephen wasn’t with Tony. It wasn’t like it was before - the times when Tony didn’t know Stephen, time would pass and he wouldn’t know if several hours had gone by unless someone told him. 

Time now, however, would have Tony finish several tasks and only have passed by ten minutes.

Which would have been fine if the time didn’t pass by so damn quickly when Stephen was there.

Slow time gave Tony time to collect his thoughts. That was unfortunate.

_Smash_. A dent in the armour. Rounded metal crashes again and again into his suit. Red, white, and blue.

Tony watches helplessly as a blue-suited man helps his companion up, metal arm clinging on to skin.

Words that sounded incomprehensible to his own ears reached Steve. The super soldier looked down distantly at his shield, panting heavily. He looked up at Tony once with the slightest bit of regret in his gaze before dropping the shield with a clang.

Vibranium clanging against the floor. Footsteps leaving the area, leaving a powerless Tony to die on foreign land. People who had once been friends had turned on each other. 

They left Tony to die.

“Hey, are you listening?” Natasha’s voice brought him back, along with a slender hand pressing down on his shoulder. Her voice had been teasing, but turned anxious when Tony breathed in and out quicker than the normal human. “Shit, Tony, you okay?”

Vision tried to reassuringly rest his hand on Tony’s upper back. “Totally fine, yeah, I’m great,” Tony grinned, putting up a shaky thumbs up. His breathing wasn’t getting any better, but he could act.

“You’re not allowed to say that, a doctor’s allowed to say that.” Without informing him, she grabbed his phone and opened the messages.

He rolled his eyes, calming immediately when Stephen’s name popped up. Not completely better, but better.

“If you’re going to tell him I like him, whoopsie. He already knows,” he scoffed. Natasha gave him a sweet smile, fingers flying over the keyboard. Seconds passed before sparks appeared in the air, bringing his heartbeat up. 

“Tony?” A tall figure walked through the portal professionally, posture straight. His cape flew out behind him, giving him a majestic look. Yes, he looked hot, but he might look hotter if Tony was in a right state of mind.

“So _you’re_ the doctor! Yeah, Tony’s got taste,” she smirked, looking him up and down obviously. Stephen ignored everyone in the room, rushing over to Tony’s spot on his couch. 

“Deep breaths.” He grasped Tony's hand, placing it on his own heart. “With me.” Together, the two breathed in at the same pace until Tony’s heart went down to a normal pace. “You’re among... friends.”

Giving the billionaire time to rest on his own in the chair, Stephen brushed back his hair with a shaking hand, observing everyone in the room. Natasha still had a smirk on her face, Clint had a bored look. Steve and Bucky were immensely close, while Peter and Shuri jabbered away in a corner, oblivious to everything that was happening. T’challa quietly watched the teenagers talk.

“Natasha,” the red-haired woman introduced in a sultry voice. Clint reached out for her hand, shaking his head quickly while gesturing towards a now-okay Tony. 

“What? He’s hot,” she snorted before crossing her arms. “M’kay, no more flirting with the doc,” Tony sighed, wrapping arms around the robes and belts surrounding Stephen’s waist.

The sorcerer absent-mindedly brushed shaky fingers over Tony’s, meeting the others’s gazes with calm eyes. “Doctor Stephen Vincent Strange,” he stated in his calm, deep voice. The room went quiet, everyone turning to face the confident figure.

T’challa was the first to clear his throat, standing to meet the sorcerer’s gaze with his own. “King T’challa.” 

Everyone else introduced themselves in a similar manner, except for Peter. He had a mischievous look in his eyes when he reached out for an exaggerated handshake.

Stephen left a small smirk lift a corner of his mouth when he held out his own hand. The two silently shared an inside joke before letting go.

“Stephen,” Tony murmured, arms still around his waist. “You’ve gotta stop showing up when I panic a little.” 

The doctor scoffed. “It didn’t seem like panicking a little to me. I’ll show up when I want to,” he said softly, rubbing Tony’s arms. 

The sound of a phone taking photos reached Stephen’s ear, causing the sorcerer to turn his head. 

Shuri ‘awwed’ along with Peter, showing the pictures to the teenager. They waved over the Cloak, who floated towards the teenagers to ripple around in excitement.

“Nope.” Tony walked hurriedly to the kids to take the phone. “I’ll be taking this.”

Peter shot a web towards the ceiling, lifting himself up far from Tony’s reach. From his spot on the ceiling, he grinned towards the two older men before hitting a button on his phone. 

“Peter, I-” a notification sound filled the room coming from multiple different phones. Tony rubbed his temples. “I swear to god, if you actually posted that...”

“Yeah, he did,” Bucky’s voice popped up. He was sitting incredibly close to Steve on the couch, but he held up a sort-of old phone to show the picture.

Tony was snuggled close to Stephen, his arms wrapped around the sorcerer’s waist from the backside. Stephen had his arm resting on Tony’s, fingers locked with the shorter man’s. 

“Jesus. Delete.” He gave Peter a stern look, who shrugged before gleefully deleting the picture from all of his social medias.

Although the pictures were gone, the articles still existed. That’s not fun. 

“Yeah, here’s one. Uh, ‘Playboy billionaire Tony Stark has a new lover!’ That’s not too bad,” Matasha murmured under her breath, rating all of the news articles one by one. Tony rolled his eyes, dragging Stephen onto a couch with him. The sorcerer had a disgruntled look on his face, but allowed Tony to pull him onto the sofa.

“You’re not gonna break up with me for this, right?” Tony asked, joking on the outside but genuinely nervous on the inside. Stephen met Tony’s warm brown gaze with piercing ocean eyes, smirking a little. “That’s not in my to-do list, I’m afraid.” 

“Go on and kiss,” Natasha whistled, holding up a thumbs up behind her phone camera. “We won’t judge you!”

Rhodey covered his eyes, grinning. “I might judge you.” Tony wrapped his arms around Stephen’s neck, all while lifting a hand to flip off his best friend.

Peter tried and failed to hide his phone from Tony’s eyes, wincing when he was caught. “Seriously? Why us? Go take pictures of Rogers and Barnes,” Tony snorted, gesturing towards two men wrapped up in each other’s arms.

Natasha smiled widely, pressing the record button instead of taking pictures. She panned the camera over to the super soldiers before bringing it back to focus on the men with goatees.

“Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!” she chanted, zooming in on their faces. Stephen raised an eyebrow, looking over at the avengers with a confused expression on his face.

Tony laughed, giving an exaggerated shrug towards the camera before pressing his lips to Stephen’s. He pulled away after two seconds, flashing a wide smile towards the camera. Natasha cheered, along with the teenagers.

In less than a minute, the internet went wild with excitement over the newest celebrity couple.


	10. Cast.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi, hello. welcome ladies and gents, today i would like to tell you how SCHOOL IS A PIECE OF ABSOLUTE ASS  
> no seriously it just started and i’m over it  
> ok rant aside HI IM SORRY ABOUT NOT POSTING OFTEN  
> i wish i was a more interesting writer, and one that was more committed to actual posting schedules.   
> this is just nice and warm for me to write, i could write stuff like this all day :)  
> thank you for reading!
> 
> kudos and comments make my day! :)

Steve wrapped a hand gently around Bucky’s right hand, reading from his lover’s phone.

“Anything interesting?” he wondered aloud, fingers tapping against Bucky’s skin. The metal-armed soldier shrugged, angling his device towards the blond. “Not much.”

Minutes of silence before Steve hesitantly speaks up.

“Do you think I did something wrong?” He pauses for a second before correcting his mistake. “We. Do you think we did something wrong.”

Bucky turned to stare at his partner, examining him. Muscular, dirty-blond hair, a beard. Eyes that showed the urge to be honest, but a slight hint of love for Bucky.

“Yeah, I think we did.” Putting down his phone, he brought his metal hand to hold Steve’s between both of his own. “You?” 

Steve thought about his actions. Did Tony deserve it? Maybe not, but what were his choices? “Buck, I had to do it to save you,” he nearly pleaded, blue eyes meeting Bucky’s. The long-haired man sighed, waving a hand that showed the conversation to be over.  
___

Who were Tony’s friends? Several people in the charming man’s life would jump at the chance to be called a friend of the genius, but how many truly cared?

Stephen sorted the crew into groups in his mind. There were people that Tony could call friends, and some he would call... not friends. Yeah, not creative, but it’ll do.

After mere seconds of thinking, he came up with sorted groups. Natasha, Pepper, Rhodey, Peter, and Bruce. He winced. That wasn’t a large group.

He shifted his thoughts towards the other group. Surprisingly small. Rogers, Barnes, Maximoff. He dismissed the others, sorting them into a different group of acquaintances. 

Two warm hands covered his eyes, and Stephen sighed. “Tony, I can tell it’s you,” he muttered, grinning slightly when he heard a noise of annoyance. 

“Mr. Wizard, cheating ain’t allowed,” he complained childishly. Stephen chuckled, standing up to face his partner eye to eye. More like eye to neck, but whatever.

“Hey,” he murmured in his baritone voice. Tony smirked, dragging Stephen down for a long kiss. “Hey, you.”

Stephen’s arms wrapped around the smaller man’s waist, pulling him closer as Tony pressed his hands against the back of the sorcerer’s neck. They lingered, until Stephen smiled against Tony’s lips. 

“I’d hope you were here just to see me, but I’m sure that isn’t the reason,” he mumbled. Tony opened his eyes, showing Stephen the beautiful whiskey colour.

The genius sighed, pulling his arms away from his lover’s neck. “Yeah, no. Needed to see the doc for a minute,” he explained, leaning against a table.

“If this is about yesterday, no, I’m not mad about the kids taking pictures,” Stephen chuckled. Tony shook his head, uncharacteristically quiet. “No, it’s just... Why am I still thinking about the Siberia thing?” Tony dropped his head into his hands, rubbing his hair back and forth. 

“Nothing’s wrong with you.” The room went quiet, the only noises heard were Tony’s shallow breaths and the occasional sound of Stephen’s hand brushing comfortingly against Tony’s back.

The genius made a noise of unsure relief in the form of a sigh, dropping his hands from his hair. “I trust you.” A warm feeling trickled up Stephen’s neck, and he kissed Tony’s forehead.  
___

“No, no. Kid, you fucking idiot.” Tony blinked back tears, pulling the teenager up. 

“It’s nothing! Seriously, it’s just - ow - a sprain!” Peter reassured in a shaking voice, leaning against the older man. He made sure to wrap webbing around his leg, protecting the injury from further harm. 

“Mhm, yeah. FRIDAY, scan it.” Peter winced, opening his mouth to resist. “No, FRIDAY, don’t-”

“Broken ankle and two broken bones,” the feminine voice answered. “Medical service is advised.”

“Mr. Stark, sir, it’s fine!” he pleaded, ignoring the AI. “Bitten by radioactive spider, remember?” He pointed at the black spider symbol on his chest. “Healing! Right?” 

“I’ve had enough outta you. FRI, call the doc,” he sighed. Not a minute passed before orange sparks fell onto the sidewalk, allowing a disapproving sorcerer to walk through.

“Wiz! Doc! Doctor wiz man,” Peter beamed, shooting cheesy finger guns at Stephen. The cloaked man rolled his eyes, sharing a look with Tony.

His eyes skimmed over the injury, and he merely turned his head back to Tony. “What’d he do?” he questioned, not giving Peter a glance. Tony grimaced at the teenager, who’s smile was turning painful. “He left school to go ‘beat up some bad dudes’,” he used his fingers to frame the words. 

Giving the injury a quick nod, he turned to leave, much to the cloak’s irritation. “Hey, what about the kid?” Tony asked, gesturing towards the now wincing teenager. He quickly saved face by flashing a thumbs up.

Stephen whisked his hand outwards, a cast wrapping itself around the ankle. “Wait!” a timid voice popped up. He turned, raising an eyebrow.

“Can you maybe, uh, maybe heal it?” Stephen shook his head, giving him an affectionate but stern look. “Maybe don’t go after bad guys during school,” he teased. Peter sighed.

“Yeah, listen to the wiz, kid. Y’know, they’re wise and stuff.” Tony grinned. Stephen rolled his eyes even harder than before, slipping on his sling ring. 

“I’m going to leave, you’re gonna have to face the kid on your own.” Without waiting for a response, he left.  
___

“The kid’s nice, but he still doesn’t like his cast,” the phone answered. Stephen scoffed, using his free hand to summon the hot cup of tea to his hand. “Too bad. It’ll get better.”

Tony’s exhale could be heard over the sound of crashing. Stephen raised his eyebrows. “Tony?”

“STOP BREAKING THE PLATES!” Sudden footsteps sounded from the phone, and in a minute Tony’s voice could be heard again. “The plates. That shit was expensive,” he panted.

“You can replace it.” Stephen put the phone on speaker mode, using both hands to physically pick up the hot cup of tea. 

“I know, but the plate has memories!” His voice sincerely sounded pained. Stephen felt a tug at his gut, genuinely feeling sorry for the man crying over his plates. 

“It was when you came over, and we had ice cream, and you complained over and over again about the fact that it was chalky,” he sighed. Stephen let a rare smile don the edge of his lips. “It was chalky,” he retorted gently.

“Yeah yeah. You ate all of it,” Tony laughed. A silence fell over the two. 

“I love you.” The breathy statement fell out of Tony’s mouth without him knowing, and the line went dead. Stephen could hear the sound that meant the other had hung up. ‘I love you’.

He wished he had the courage to tell him back.


End file.
